I’m political worker, not servant, says Junaid

MARDAN/CHARSADDA: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) provincial President Junaid Akbar on Wednesday said that he was a political worker, not a servant.

He said that he would call a spade a spade and he would quit as PTI provincial head if its founder Imran Khan did not listen to him.

He was speaking at a meeting at Pakhtunkhwa House (circuit house). PTI provincial General Secretary Ali Azghar Khan, former provincial minister and MNA Muhammad Atif Khan, MNA Mujahid Khan, Ali Muhammad Khan, MPA Abdus Salam Afridi, Tariq Aryani, Ihtasham Khan, Amir Farzand Khan and Tufail Anjum also attended the meeting.

The meeting was arranged in connection with the February 9 rally being held in Swabi.

When MPA Tufail Anjum pointed out that the portrait of Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur was not on the flaxes being installed in the public meeting place. Junaid Akbar replied that the thieves would not be tolerated in the party. “We will not make politics a business,” he remarked.

He said that PTI would mobilise millions of workers on February 8, without provincial government support, to demonstrate that their mandate was stolen a year ago.

He added that he would submit the report of every worker to PTI founder Imran Khan. He added that he had friends and enemies in politics, but he would never support any wrong person. He added that as long as Imran Khan had confidence in Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur they would stand by him.

He added that they wanted to bridge the gap between institutions and the people and he wished that state institutions would become stronger.

However, he added that institutions should correct their behaviour.

Meanwhile, addressing a convention of workers in Charsadda, PTI provincial President Junaid Akbar said that those responsible for state repression on November 26 were mistaken if they believed PTI workers had been intimidated. He asserted that their opponents’ hatred would not weaken their resolve.

Junaid Akbar stated that PTI workers would not hesitate if Imran Khan called for a march towards D-Chowk. “Previously, we were not prepared, but now we are ready to face bullets,” he said, emphasizing that they had not expected the state to use force against unarmed protesters.

“We are coming back, and you can do whatever you want. The nation stood with Imran Khan on February 8 and still does today,” he added. He reiterated that PTI advocated for reconciliation, peace, development, democracy, and constitutional supremacy but warned that coercion would not force them into submission.

“We are human beings, not Tarzan. There is a limit to the oppression we can endure. Our hatred for you is now entrusted to us, and we pledge to pass it on to future generations,” he stated, warning that the establishment’s approach posed a threat to the federation.

Junaid Akbar reaffirmed his respect for state institutions but stressed that no individual within them is their owner. “I own the institutions, parliament, and this country. No one has the right to impose decisions on us,” he asserted.

He said that Imran Khan’s struggle had moved beyond the pursuit of power or the prime minister’s office. “Imran Khan no longer desires power for its own sake. The day he instructs us, we will resign from the assemblies,” he claimed, maintaining that PTI’s fight was not for parliamentary seats or government positions.

“You cannot break our spirits through oppression and coercion, nor can you buy us,” he added.